Keep Your Millennial Mentees Engaged. Here Are Some Innovative Ways

Keeping mentees motivated can be just as important—and just as challenging—for a mentor as passing on knowledge and skills. Mentees are often enthusiastic at the start, but they can get burnt out, discouraged, or even lose interest in continuing a mentorship for varying reasons. That’s when timely guidance and encouragement can sustain good results and keep the mentee engaged. A mentee can end up checking out of the relationship due to work-related pressures, competing responsibilities, or even a lack of effort on the mentor’s part to keep the relationship consistent and engaging. Whatever the reason, it’s vital to notice the signs of a mentee losing interest and making the necessary changes to save the relationship. So, what are some of the characters of a disengaged mentee? Below are a few of the most common red flags:

Uncommunicative: Your mentee no longer sends regular updates on their progress, and communication is sporadic and irregular.

Disengaged: When your mentee does take the time to check-in, they don’t have much to report or any questions to ask. This indicates that mentorship has not been a priority for them.

Unreliable: Your mentee has begun to miss scheduled meetings and task completion dates. Their inconsistency shows they are no longer taking the mentorship seriously.

If you end up with a waning mentorship on your hands, your next step after recognizing the signs is to make the changes necessary to turn the relationship around. A slowly disengaging mentee needs to be motivated regularly, and their progress needs to be highlighted periodically.  

Maintaining a solid and sustainable relationship with your mentee can be an easy task if these simple yet powerful points are kept in mind:

• Encourage your mentee to initiate conversations about progress and development from time to time.
• Plan your activities well in advance and keep a written schedule so that both parties are in sync.
• Meetings will be held in various ways to avoid monotony and maintain interactions new and exciting. You might alternate the format you use for meetings, such as phone, video, or email conferencing.
• Ensure that your mentee is aware of your confidentiality to encourage transparency in communication and motivate honesty.

• Encourage your mentee to regularly revisit goal statements and long-term plans and make adjustments based on progress and new knowledge.
• Clearly state your expectations from the beginning and find out what expectations your mentee has.  

These points may seem simple and intuitive, but they often get overlooked, and they can mean the difference between a mentee who is fully engaged and one who has thoroughly checked out. Taking the time to incorporate these practices into your mentorship will ensure that your mentee remains enthusiastic and productive throughout the relationship. Here are some tips for mentors for a successful mentorship.

If you wish to sustain your relationship with your mentee and look for innovative ideas, contact MentorCloud.

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